by Jen Talty
Text copyright ©2017 by the Author.
This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Desiree Holt. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original The Omega Team remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Desiree Holt, or their affiliates or licensors.
For more information on Kindle Worlds: http://www.amazon.com/kindleworlds
Table of Contents
The Lighthouse
Dedication
A Note From Jen Talty
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Books by Jen Talty
About the Author
THE LIGHTHOUSE
THE OMEGA TEAM
the SARICH BROTHERS series
book 1 of 4
Logan’s Story
JEN TALTY
DEDICATION
To CASEY HAGEN. Thanks for making me laugh during the editing process!
To DESIREE HOLT. Thank you for creating The Omega Team and allowing me to write in this world. I am forever grateful.
A Special Thank you to LISA HEMMING. Your support humbles me. Thank you.
A NOTE FROM JEN TALTY
Some researchers have said there is a correlation between the ocean and being calm, happier, and more creative. Having spent a winter in Jupiter, Florida, I’d say these researchers are right on the money.
the SARICH BROTHERS series was born while I spent four months in Jupiter, walking the beach, visiting the Jupiter Lighthouse, driving around Jupiter Island, dining at various places on the water, and over all enjoying this next chapter in my life known as ‘empty nest’.
The Sarich Brothers, while poor, had a good life, raised by loving parents. However, their father was killed in the line of duty when the oldest boy was just twenty and the youngest fourteen, changing their lives forever…
Each of the brothers struggle with a restlessness, in part caused by their father’s death. They are strong, honorable, and loyal men. They aren’t looking for a woman, as their jobs aren’t necessarily conducive with long-term relationships. It’s going to take an equally strong woman to rip down the Sarich Brothers defenses and help them settle their restlessness, so they can give their hearts.
The series does not need to be read in order, but the four novellas do follow a timeline.
Come join each of the Sarich boys in their journey to heal old wounds, mend broken hearts, and find their way to true happiness with the love of a good, strong woman.
CHAPTER 1
LOGAN SARICH DUMPED his rucksack next to his boss’s door, well aware he hadn’t showered in forty-eight hours and the Tampa summer humidity clung to his pores like flies on shit. “Hey boss.” He pushed open the door. Normally, he’d go clean up after an op, but the boss lady said it was urgent. “Where’s Grey?”
“Talking with a client,” Athena Madero said, plugging her nose. She and Grey Holden had originally worked together in a covert investigation, which resulted in them joining forces to create THE OMEGA TEAM. “What’s that smell?”
“A combination of two days of surveillance, stale coffee, fish tacos, a hot dog, and something I can’t pronounce,” Logan said, smiling. “You told me it was urgent.”
She shook her head. “No, I said to get your ass in here as soon as you can. Next time wash that ripe smell off before you enter my space.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Logan had only been working for The Omega Team for six months, after spending six years in the Special Forces, and before that, six years in the infantry. “I can leave and come back, if you’d prefer.”
“I’ve smelled worse.” She pushed a file toward the end of the table. “I’ve got a job for you.”
He’d been hoping for a couple of days off, but he’d taken this job under the premise that all he wanted to do was work.
Be careful what you ask for.
He picked up the file.
“In Jupiter, Florida,” she said.
He didn’t open the file, just peered over the top. “You want me to go to my hometown for a job?”
“Open it.” Athena sat back down, crossing her legs, swiveling the chair.
Logan did as asked, but frowned the moment he saw a picture of Mia Vanderin and her twin brother Markus. “My mother works for the Vanderlin’s. I can’t take this job.”
“You can.” Athena arched a brow. “And you will.”
Logan had learned his first week on the job not to argue with the boss lady. “What’s the assignment?”
“Bodyguard.”
“Of the twins?” He flipped through the pages, ignoring the childhood memories of skinny dipping with the smartest and sexiest girl in school. “Why?”
“Mia and Markus are ethical hackers. Mia was hired to do a security check for DANA Corp.”
“The defense contractor?”
Athena nodded. “While doing the check, Mia found some sort of virus that swapped out good specs with bad ones.”
“So, stealing information from DANA Corp?”
“We believe an organization known as STEALTH was behind the attack, but it hasn’t been confirmed.”
“I take it she blew the whistle?”
“Not at first.”
“Please don’t tell me she messed with the A-Hole’s in STEALTH.” But Logan knew the answer. When messed with, Mia tended to fight back.
“She created a program that would spit out false information to STEALTH regarding various defense contracts and designs on some top-secret material. She also managed to send a message to the CIA, who were able to trace the origin of the original hack back to an abandoned warehouse. The CIA have people in custody. None of them are talking.”
“Where?”
“Like the CIA is going to tell us that.” She held her hand up. “And they aren’t talking to us either, so let’s focus on the assignment.”
Logan still knew a few people at the Agency, and he suspected his boss knew that he’d use his contacts. “If she’s the one who ratted out STEALTH, why does Markus need protection?”
“STEALTH threatened Mia directly, but since they are business partners, she thinks he could be a target as well.”
Logan should dump the file back on Athena’s desk. While it would be good to see Mia and her brother again, no way would he be setting foot on that property. “Why isn’t the CIA protecting them?”
“They have bigger issues to deal with, like a breach in security, so when Mia was threatened, her family called us.”
“We are the best.” Logan tried not to wince at the memory of the last time he’d been at Mia’s house. “I’m grateful for the work, but seriously, someone else has to take this one. I know for a fact that Mr. and Mrs. Vanderlin will take one look at me and slam the door in my face.”
“Dressed like that.” She pointed at his muddy T-shirt that used to be white. “And smelling like a cow pasture, I’m sure they would, but I’m guessing that’s not why you’re asking me to reassign this one.”
“You know my skill set is better suited for other ops. I’m not cut out to be a baby sitter for a bunch of rich people.”
“Not a good reason to reassign.” She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms, almost daring him to continue arguing with her.
“There might be a little bad history there,” Logan admitted.
“Such as
?”
The corners of his mouth tugged upward into a smile. The incident had been both part of the best times of his life, and the most embarrassing. “The Vanderlin’s think I deflowered Mia.”
“Deflowered? Really?” Athena laughed, something Logan hadn’t heard before. “I never thought a word like that would come out of your mouth,” she said.
“It’s the word they used when they told my mother they caught me in Mia’s bedroom with my pants down.”
“So, it’s true?” Athena cocked her head, her face turned serious.
“Let’s just say we deflowered each other.” He covered his mouth, gliding his hand down to his chin, trying to wipe off the grin. There hasn’t been a time in his adult life where remembering Mia didn’t make him smile. He often wondered if she thought of him the same way.
“Well, I told Brett Vanderlin on the phone that I’d be sending you, so he obviously doesn’t have a problem after all these years, so, you’re still going.”
“Yes ma’am.” He picked up his rucksack, flinging it over his shoulder. “When?”
“Right after you shower. It’s only a three-hour drive.”
“I’ve done it in less,” he said as he turned toward the door.
“And Logan,” Athena said, with a clipped tone. “Don’t sleep with the client.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
CHAPTER 2
MIA STEPPED ONTO the second-story patio and inhaled sharply, letting the salty breeze fill her lungs as she watched the ocean waves crash against the beach on Jupiter Island. While she had a nice little condo overlooking the intercostal with a perfect view of the Jupiter Lighthouse a few miles away, nothing beat the view of the ocean from her childhood bedroom.
A few cars slowly made their way down the main road between the house and the beach. One in particular had two couples inside and they stopped in front of the driveway, pointing, before continuing down the street. The familiar pang of loneliness still filled her mind and soul. Growing up was tough enough, but when you lived in a forty-million-dollar home AND was the smartest girl in a public school, real friends were hard to come by.
She leaned against the railing on the patio, looking down at the gardener and his crew of seven, tending to the extensive landscaping.
A black jeep with the top off, rolled to a stop in front of the gate. She lowered her sunglasses, peering over the rims, checking out the driver. His face had been blocked by the sun rays reflecting off the front windshield. His bulky arm reached over the truck door, hitting the intercom. The buzzing of a weed whacker covered the sound of his voice.
The front gates swung open and the Jeep pulled around the circular driveway, stopping just below her patio. A man with a white T-Shirt eased from the front seat, back toward her. His broad shoulders flexed as he slammed the door and reached in the back seat before turning around, looking in her direction.
She tore off her sunglasses, blinking her eyes, wondering if someone had slipped something in her smoothie this morning because no way could she be staring at Logan Sarich.
“Hey Mia,” he said, grinning. “Long time no see.” He tucked his sunglasses on the collar of his shirt while holding a military bag of some kind.
“What the hell are you doing here?” She chomped on her lower lip as her gaze took in every inch of his six-foot-two frame. She remembered exactly what he looked like under his clothes. His thick, muscular frame hidden behind his light blue khaki shorts, something he wouldn’t have been caught dead in back in the day. Her fingers twitched, remembering his hard stomach and how she could sit for hours watching him train for baseball season. Her favorite exercises had been push-ups because she’d lay on his back, trying to distract him. It usually worked.
She let her breath out in one long swish. He hadn’t changed a bit. Same light brown hair, cut short. Same perpetual five-o’clock shadow that she used to love feeling against her neck when he’d kiss her there.
“I take it you like what you see,” he said, tearing her from her memories.
“You’re still conceited.” But he had a right to be when it came to his looks. There wasn’t a girl in high school that didn’t want a piece of him. But for nearly a year, she had been the lucky girl to have every piece of him. “You haven’t answered my question.”
“Are you surprised your father’s not out here with a shot gun?”
“I’m sure he’s looking for it,” she said. Her face heated at the memory of that morning.
“The lattice is still there.” He pointed to the side of the house where her personal private patio ended. “I could climb up like I used to?”
“Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself, old man.”
He laughed. “Your father didn’t tell you I was coming?”
She shook her head. “You can’t be the guy from The Omega Team.”
“In the flesh.”
“Logan Sarich,” her mother’s voice echoed through the thick Florida humid air. “I couldn’t believe it when Brett said you were coming. You just missed your mother by an hour.”
“I met her for a cup of coffee before I came here.”
Mia watched her mother give Logan a hug. He stiffened when her father slammed the front door.
“Logan,” her father said in a brisk tone. “Thank you for coming.”
“Happy to help.” Logan stretched out his hand.
Mia watched her father shake Logan’s hand in a firm grip. Friendly enough, but the way her father drew his lips in a tight line indicated he’d never gotten over what he saw the morning she’d left for her first year at Poly-Tech. Based on Logan’s ‘at attention’ stance, he was still petrified of her father.
Her father cleared his throat. “I don’t know the protocol for this sort of thing.”
“Best place for me to start is to interview Mia and Markus and then I’m going to need access to all your security system so I can evaluate any weak spots.”
“Whatever needs to be done to keep my family safe.” Her father rested his hand on Logan’s shoulder, looking up at Mia. “Get your brother and meet us in the kitchen.”
“Will do.” She lingered for a moment, watching Logan as he crossed the front yard. Damn, still the nicest ass in the state of Florida.
She walked the long hallway toward her brother’s childhood bedroom. Neither one of them had wanted to move back to their parents’ house at the age of thirty-two, even temporarily. However, after finding out her own computer system had been hacked this morning, she knew it was best if her and Markus were under the same roof.
“Markus?” She tapped on the door. “The guy from The Omega Team is here and you’re not going to believe who it is.”
She waited a few moments, hearing nothing. “Markus,” she said a little louder before pushing back the door, knowing he often worked with head phones on…in his underwear. Not a look she needed to see on her brother. She shook her head, kicking aside a couple of dirty towels that had been left on the floor, along with half the clothes he’d brought over. Her heals clicked against the floor as she strode across the room, checking his patio, but no Markus. When she turned toward the bathroom, she noticed a bottle of red wine on the floor, tipped over. Her mother would have a cow if she saw red liquid on her new white tile floors. As Mia got closer, she noticed the spill on the floor wasn’t wine.
“Mom! Dad!” But it was pointless to yell in a twenty-thousand square foot home.
Mia knelt, getting a better look.
Blood.
She jerked up right, stumbling backward until her butt landed on the messy bed. “No…” She took off down the hallway toward the far spiral staircase that looped down by the kitchen, knocking at least one family portrait off the wall.
“Logan,” she shouted.
By the time she got to the staircase, he stood at the bottom, hands on his hips.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She missed the last step and fell into his strong arms, twisting her ankle. “Shit.”
He h
oisted her up as she leaned into his body, lacing her fingers around his massive biceps.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head as she kicked off her heels, tilting her chin up so she could see his face instead of his chest. “It’s Markus. He’s gone and there is blood on the bathroom floor.”
“What!” Her mother screeched from the other room.
Mia’s chest heaved up and down as she struggled to breath. She focused on Logan’s light green eyes as she tried to mentally stop her body from trembling.
“Calm down.” Logan’s hands pressed firmly against her hips, holding her steady. “Could he be anywhere else in the house?”
“Sure,” Mia said as Logan raised his arm, stopping her father from passing.
“Get out of my way,” her father snapped.
“We’ll all go together…sir.” Logan reached around her waist and hoisted her to the side with a single hand. “I’ll assess the situation while we search the house together and then we’ll go from there, okay?”
She took one step on the ankle she’d twisted and groaned, grabbing Logan’s hand.
“Are you going to be all right to walk?” Logan didn’t wait for an answer as he looped his brawny arm around her waist. “Grab hold of my shoulder.”
“I’ll help my daughter,” her father bellowed.
“It’s all right, sir. I’ve got her.” Logan didn’t ease his grip. Her feet barely touched the ground as they climbed the staircase. “Where else does he like to go in the house?”
“Nowhere,” her father said. “Even when he was in high school, he’d stay in his room for hours and tinker with computers and gadgets.”
“Really, you can put me down,” she whispered. A girl could get used to being carried around by a strong, viral man, but not at the expense of her father’s comfort level.
“All right.” But he held tight right up until they’d made their way into Markus’s room. Only then did Logan gently set her on the bed.
“Is he always this messy?” Logan asked.
